Devereux also awarded the Seal of Recognition

Steven Murphy, Executive Director of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Florida was presented with the 2016 Champion for Children award by the Florida Coalition for Children.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Steven Murphy, Advanced Behavioral Health Florida ExecutiveDirector, was presented the 2016 Champion for Children award by the Florida Coalition for Children.

The award was given at the FCC’s annual conference, held recently at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate.

Murphy was named Executive Director of Devereux Florida in 2008, joining the Devereux Foundation after his previous position as the founding President and Chief Executive Officer for the Partnership for Strong Families, one of the first community-based care lead agencies in the state of Florida, where he was instrumental in reshaping Florida’s child welfare system of care.

With the goal of advancing Devereux Florida as a premier provider for child welfare services, Murphy has continually improved the effectiveness and relevance of Devereux’s mission and programs to better serve the needs of children, youth and families.

Since joining Devereux, Murphy has led the organization to expand services to children and families in community based settings, and has led the organization to collaborate with the Human Rights Campaign’s All Children All Families (ACAF) to ensure equality and fully inclusive policies and services throughout the organization.

Because of Murphy’s leadership and dedication, Devereux has been awarded the Seal of Recognition from the Human Rights Campaign ACAF project making it one of the first agencies in the state of Florida to receive the seal, achieving the benchmarks of LGBT cultural competence.

Furthermore, Murphy recognized the need in the state of Florida to effectively help victims of sexual exploitation, particularly for children.

He understood that strong collaborative relationships with state agencies and service providers are necessary to address the impact of human trafficking with the youth throughout our state. With Murphy’s leadership and administrative direction, Devereux partnered with the Florida Department of Children and Families to develop a comprehensive clinical program for children and adolescent who have been victims of sexual exploitation and is now serving Florida’s children with the most intensive needs in this area.